Telemetry is a science of measuring data at remote locations and reporting that data to desired receiving points. The Range Commanders Council (“RCC”) government telemetry group publishes the IRIG 106-04 specification document that defines the telemetry standard. The telemetry standard supports many modulation schemes that fall under the general modulation family of continuous phase modulation (“CPM”). SOQPSK and PCM/FM are just two examples of modulation schemes that are part of the family of CPM.
Telemetry transmitters are used in various commercial applications as well as other applications. For example, they can be utilized as part of an on-board diagnostic system for satellites, space modules, trains, missiles, smart projectiles, planes and other aircraft. The transmitters' main function is to send status data to receiving stations for record-keeping, decision making, and alerting purposes that will allow operations to be successful and effective.
The traditional method of building telemetry transmitters was to utilize analog components. The analog circuit architectures were important to preserve the linearity and quality of the transmitted signal. However, analog components are typically expensive, and they use significant current.
Also, traditional analog architectures are not capable of being flexible to meet a variety of bandwidth requirements. For example, many analog circuit architectures utilize band specific components that limit multi-mode capabilities. Therefore, a single transmitter cannot support multiple modes unless the actual analog components are changed or multiple transmitter lineups are utilized. Even then, one is still constrained by the actual analog components existing in the transmitter.
Another disadvantage is that a telemetry transmitter that is using a traditional analog architecture is limited in supporting multi-rate capabilities. When designing telemetry transmitters, a specific transmission data rate is chosen. Then specific analog components are used and tuned to accommodate that specific transmission data rate. Therefore, a single transmitter cannot support multiple rates unless the actual analog components are changed, multiple clocks are utilized, or multiple transmitter lineups are used, which is significantly limiting.
Accordingly, there is a need for architectures and methods for telemetry transmitters that support both multi-mode and multi-rate capabilities. Specifically, there is a need for a telemetry transmitter that can accommodate any one of a variety of rates and modulation schemes using a single transmitter lineup without having to replace internal components.